The changes to the 4-hour employment contracts aim to protect workers, limit the shadow economy and guarantee real social security rights. This was stated by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Natalia Efremova in the program “Hello, Bulgaria“, defending the social measures in the state budget and assuring that the cabinet has no intention of compensating for the deficit by raising taxes.
According to her, the main task of the government, despite the budget deficit and the increase in state debt, is to preserve and increase the incomes of the most vulnerable groups.
“What we tried to do with the current budget, as well as what is to come in the preparation of the next one, is to ensure that the incomes of the most vulnerable groups will be preserved and increased so that people can meet these challenges“, the minister emphasized.
Efremova also commented on the question of whether the government will be forced to raise taxes in the difficult financial situation. According to her, all opportunities for increasing budget revenues should be used first.
“There are many measures that can be taken to increase the revenue side of the budget and provide more funds for investments and for the expenses that society needs“, she said.
Among these measures, the minister pointed out the changes to part-time employment contracts. According to her, the goal is not to harm workers, but to eliminate the misconception that work and insurance experience always coincide. “We want to make a clear distinction between work and insurance experience, so that everyone knows that when they work four hours, this will not automatically bring them the same insurance rights as when working full-time“, said Efremova.
The Social Minister rejected criticism that the changes would harm hundreds of thousands of workers, who may lose part of their paid leave or additional remuneration for time served. “This is not a direct blow. This is a direct protection of people who need to know their rights and what consequences a part-time contract has on their future social security rights“, she said.
According to her, it is completely logical that a person who works eight hours a day should have different labor rights than an employee who works four hours.
“If you work eight hours a day, your leave should be greater than that of a person who works four hours. This restores fairness and equality in calculating the work done“, the minister believes. Efremova explained that one of the main goals of the changes is to limit fictitious contracts of four hours, behind which in reality full-time work is hidden.
“We expect this measure to lead to a clarification of employment. People will realize that their employment contracts are not properly drafted and will be able to ask their employer to reflect the actual hours they work“, she said.
According to her, the practice of employers formally hiring employees on a part-time basis often conceals real income and harms the workers themselves. “This is not in the interests of the worker. When he goes on sick leave or has to use his insurance rights, he receives significantly lower benefits precisely because he is insured on a lower income“, the minister warned.
She acknowledged that among those working part-time there are mothers, students and people with disabilities, but stressed that these are far from the only cases.
“We cannot claim that this is a form of employment only for vulnerable groups. Very often these are people who work under two employment contracts of four hours each, and there are also cases in which they actually work more from what is written in the contract“, noted Efremova.
The minister justified her optimism with the many signals that the department receives daily. “Many people believe that since their four-hour working day is considered one day of work experience, this will automatically be recognized as insurance experience upon retirement. This is not the case and it is this misconception that must be overcome“, she said.
Efremova also commented on the criticism that the new texts in the budget allow disability pensions to be suspended only upon a signal. She categorically rejected such claims. “No, this interpretation is categorically not correct, no matter how many times it has already been repeated, including in the plenary hall. This is a practical problem that we are trying to resolve in a better way“, the minister said.
Efremova explained that in practice there are cases where, in the course of criminal proceedings, investigators establish the use of a medical document with false content. Then the information is sent to the National Social Security Institute.
“It often happens in the framework of criminal proceedings that law enforcement agencies establish that a document with false content has been submitted. Then they inform the National Social Security Institute that this circumstance has already been established in the course of the investigation“, she pointed out.
As examples, the minister gave a medical document issued on behalf of a doctor after his death, as well as a document formally signed by a doctor who is 100% incapacitated, has a personal assistant and objectively cannot practice his profession.
The problem, according to her, is that the National Social Security Institute has a limited period in which it can request the TELK to reconsider the decision. After its expiration, this is no longer possible under the current procedure. “If the deadline has not expired, the National Social Security Institute can return the matter for reconsideration. However, if it has already expired, there is no such possibility“, explained Efremova.
She was categorical that a single report is not enough to suspend a disability pension.
The minimum wage will not remain at its current level in 2027, but the new mechanism for determining it must take into account the state of the economy, the qualifications of employees and their real contribution, said the Minister of Labor and Social Policy.
She also commented on the controversial changes related to the re-certification and payment of disability pensions, emphasizing that social payments cannot be suspended solely on the basis of an unverified report. On the topic of the minimum wage, Efremova pointed out that a specific amount should not be fixed in advance without taking into account a number of economic and social indicators.
„The specific figure is not the most important. It must be taken into account the qualifications of the person, the work he does, his contribution, but also the capabilities of the economy“, she said.
According to the minister, the main problem of the current mechanism is its completely automatic nature. In her words, the formula does not take into account either economic development, or differences between individual industries, or the qualifications of the employed.
„Currently, we have an absolutely automatic formula that does not take into account any specifics - neither economic development, nor the qualifications of people“, said Efremova.
She emphasized that a conversation is forthcoming with the unions and employer organizations about the indicators that should be involved in calculating the minimum wage. At the same time, the amount reached will not be able to be reduced.
“There is a protective clause in the Labor Code, according to which the minimum wage for the next year cannot be lower than the already reached level. In any case, it must be above 620 euros“, the minister assured.
Efremova expressed confidence that the minimum wage will not be frozen next year. “I do not believe that the minimum wage will remain at this level even next year, because the talks with the socio-economic partners are continuing“, she said.
According to her, the goal is to reach a common decision on the criteria and the way in which the remuneration will be determined by 2027.
The Minister of Social Affairs rejected the possibility of currently restricting the rights to early retirement or further increasing the general retirement age.
She recalled that the legislation already provides for a gradual increase in the retirement age until 2037, after which the system should be subject to analysis. The minister acknowledged that in Bulgaria there are a number of exceptions for early retirement - including for those working in the first and second categories of labor and for some specific professions.
Efremova also defended the increase in the maximum social security income, stating that higher contributions also lead to higher benefits.
“When a person is insured on their real income, including the maximum, they receive a higher benefit for temporary incapacity for work during sick leave,“ she explained.
The same applies to maternity benefits, including when the leave is transferred to the father after the sixth month. “In the long term, when a person becomes entitled to a pension, he will also receive a higher amount“, the minister added.
Regarding unemployment benefits, Efremova specified that in general the amount is determined based on the income on which the person was insured. “Unemployment benefits are calculated according to the level at which the person was insured“, she said.
The minimum amount, which is just over 9 euros per day, is paid only in certain cases - for example, when the employee has terminated his employment contract himself, has been disciplinary dismissed or has already received compensation for a long period.
“We do not want to create a profession “unemployed“. The goal is to stimulate people to look for and find work,“ said the minister. She emphasized that outside of these exceptions, the compensation is determined on the basis of the real insured income and is accordingly higher.